The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. However, such scaling down has also been accompanied by increased complexity in design and manufacturing of devices incorporating these ICs, and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in device design are needed.
For example, epitaxy is one technique for depositing material used in the fabrication of integrated circuits that is ripe for improvement. Epitaxy may be used to grow semiconductor crystals as well as other crystalline structures. In a conventional vapor-phase epitaxial process, a target material is heated, and a semiconductor-containing gas is supplied. If the environment is properly maintained, the semiconductor precipitates out of the gas and on to the target in a controlled manner. In particular, the rate of precipitation/deposition depends on the surface temperature of the target material, as well as the supply rate of the gas or gasses and pressure within the epitaxial chamber. Epitaxy is capable of producing layers of highly uniform thickness; however minute deviations that may be perfectly acceptable in one technology may be critical defects once the design node shrinks. Accordingly, while conventional systems and techniques of epitaxial deposition have been adequate for previous designs, they may not be able to meet the needs of the next generation of integrated circuits. In order to continue to meet ever-increasing design requirements, further advances are needed in this area and others.